News

Rank Interactive H1 revenue up 10% on back of Mecca Bingo
29/07/2010

Stephen Carter

Continued growth from Mecca Bingo and the relaunched Gcasino brand helped Rank Interactive post a 10% year-on-year rise in first-half revenue to £27.4m, from £24.9m.

Operating profit from the online division however tumbled 23% to £2.3m for the six-months to 30 June 2010, from £3m for the same period last year. Owner Rank Group said this reflected substantial investment in marketing and product development, as well as £0.3m of start-up costs in the Spanish and Italian markets.

Mecca Bingo revenue rose an impressive 20.7% to £19.8m, from £16.4m the previous year, driven by increased marketing investment, including the bingo site’s deal with Britain's Got Talent, a £0.7m TV advertising campaign, and improved cross-selling to customers from Mecca Bingo clubs.

The gaming operator said the MeccaBingo.com site will be relaunched in the second half of the year, following an extensive overhaul.

Casino revenue rose 25% from a low base of £2.4m, to £3.0m, as a result of cross-selling the online product to customers of Rank’s land-based G Casino and Grosvenor Casinos.

The World Cup-effect however failed to arrest the ongoing decline in revenues from the Blue Square sportsbook, which fell 18% year-on-year during the first-half of the year to £3.6m, from £4.4m. The group said this also reflected a reallocation of marketing spend away from Bluesq.com to MeccaBingo.com and GCasino.com.

There was also a near halving of revenue from poker revenue, which declined 41% to £1m, from £1.7m, which the group said reflected a reallocation of marketing support away from Bluesq.com to MeccaBingo.com and GCasino.com as well as a sector-wide reduction in online poker revenue.

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Posted: 29/07/2010

Tags: GCasino , Meccaa Bingo , Rank Interactive

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